How to report animal cruelty
Instances should not be posted on social media as this will result in a delay in welfare for the animal
MANY of us have been in a situation in which we have witnessed animal cruelty, but we had no idea who to turn to.
The following helpful guidelines from the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) should bring some clarity.
With social media having no borders and users sharing posts without knowing the origin, many users call on either their local SPCA or the NSPCA to ‘do something’ about a photograph or video that is doing the rounds.
‘There is understandably outrage at what is depicted, but please resist the urge to pass it on and share as it may be counter-productive in that the visual or footage could be removed before it has been traced,’ said the NSPCA on its Facebook page.
‘The authenticity and origin of the footage is also usually unknown – sometimes it isn’t even in South Africa, or it may be an old case from years ago.’
The NSPCA said there have been quite a few instances in which pictures from old cases – some dating back as far as 2013 – have been shared ‘as a matter of urgency’.
‘This causes undue stress on animal lovers and uses up resources that could be spent on cases that have not yet been attended to.
‘Instead of spreading panic, we ask that everyone rather take a screenshot of the post, copy the link, and email it to our society liaison unit on liaison@nspca.co.za so they can advise whether it is indeed an old case or immediately take action if it is a new case.’
When animal cruelty is witnessed in real life, the incident should first be reported to your local SPCA.
An incident should not be posted to social media as this will delay the animal receiving the intervention and help that it needs.
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